The New England Patriots fell short of repeating in Super Bowl 52 in a 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Despite that, the five-time champs have opened up as the early favorites to win the Super Bowl next year, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

According to the odds offered by Bovada, the Patriots enter 2018 as 5/1 favorites to win next year’s Super Bowl. The champion Eagles are at 9/1, tied for the second-best odds with the Packers.

Much of this hinges on the assumption that the Patriots will have nearly the same group back next season. At this point, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady are expected to return. Meanwhile, All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski is currently contemplating stepping away from the game at the age of 28.

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Also, both offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will be leaving to take the head coaching positions with the Indianapolis Colts and Detriot Lions, respectively. On top of that, there is a growing expectation that both running back Dion Lewis and cornerback Malcolm Butler will leave in free agency this upcoming offseason.

Those departures could leave a sizable hole on the coaching staff, but the return of both Belichick and Brady is all that is truly needed for Las Vegas to be confident that New England can win the Super Bowl next season. All of this should have much more clarity in the coming weeks with each of these situations being resolved well ahead of next season.

The Patriots have been one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl nearly every year with Brady under center as he has continued to perform like the best quarterback in the league despite performing on the field at the age of 40. Unless there are some major changes afoot in New England, expect these betting odds to remain the same.